Dr. Luigi
| series = Dr. Mario, Luigi | producer = Hitoshi Yamagami Ichirou Mihara | director = Takao Nakano Tomoko Nakayama Daiki Sasaki | designer = Tatsuya Ushiroda | composer = Masaru Tajima | platforms = Wii U | genre= Puzzle | modes=Single-player, multiplayer }} Dr. Luigi }} is a puzzle video game for the Wii U console, developed by Nintendo and Arika. The game was released as an eShop game in North America on December 31, 2013 and in Europe and Japan on January 15, 2014. As the title suggests, Luigi is the protagonist instead of Mario. The game was released at the end of Nintendo's "Year of Luigi" promotion in 2013. Gameplay ''Dr. Luigi is a falling block tile-matching video game and offers four distinct game modes. The first, "Retro Remedy", is played using the traditional rules of Dr. Mario. In "Operation L", two different capsules, joined together to create L-shaped configurations, are dropped into the playing field at a time. "Retro Remedy" and "Operation L" are each available in single-player and competitive multiplayer modes. "Virus Buster", a game mode that was featured in Dr. Mario Online Rx, is played by holding the Wii U GamePad vertically and using the touchscreen to drag the capsules via a drag and drop interface. "Online Battle" offers online multiplayer via Nintendo Network. In a manner and style considered similar to Tetris, the player manipulates each capsule as it vertically falls 1 unit of space at a time, able to move it left or right and rotate it 90 degrees in either clockwise or counter-clockwise. When four or more capsule halves or viruses of matching color are aligned in vertical or horizontal configurations, they are removed from play. Any remaining capsule halves or whole capsules which are now not supported by a virus or capsule will fall to the bottom of the playing field or until it hits another supported object, and any new 4-in-a-row alignments created from this will also be removed. The main objective is to complete levels, which is accomplished by eliminating all viruses from the playing field. A game over occurs if capsules fill up the playing field in a way that obstructs the bottle's narrow neck. After each 5th level is completed on Medium or High difficulty, up to level 20, a cut-scene is shown where the virus trio is sitting on a tree as music plays and an object flies across the screen. Players are first brought to the options screen, where the starting level, game speed, and music can be chosen. The initial level chosen is a value between zero and twenty that determines the number of viruses to clear, and the three-game speed options change how fast the capsules fall within the bottle. The player's score is based solely on the elimination of viruses and the chosen game speed, with bonus points for clearing more than 1 in a single line. There is no fixed end to the game (players may continue progressing through levels and accumulating points even after beating level 20), though beating level 24 takes players back to level 24. Oddly, levels 20 and 21 have the same number of viruses; however, the virus count does increase further in levels 22, 23, and 24. Dr. Luigi offers a multiplayer gaming mode in which two players compete against each other in separate playing fields. In this mode, the player's goal is to clear their own playing field of viruses before the other player does. Eliminating multiple viruses or initiating chain reactions can cause additional capsules to fall onto the opponent's playing field. A player wins a single game upon eliminating all the viruses or if the other playing field fills up. The first player to win three games wins overall. Reception Dr. Luigi s reception from critics was average, having a Metacritic score of 65/100 based on 38 reviews. Scott Thompson of IGN rated the game as "good" (7.5/10). He praised the game's additions to the Dr. Mario formula, particularly the "Operation L" gameplay mode. Thompson highlighted the music remixes and online connectivity, but found its actual matchmaking and two-player limit for each match lackluster. Notes References }} Category:2013 video games Category:Dr. Mario games Category:Falling block puzzle games Category:Luigi games Category:Mario puzzle games Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games Category:Nintendo Network games Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Wii U eShop games Category:Wii U-only games Category:Arika games